5 30 L iliacea: Polygonatum. 



knee, in allusion to the many joints or nodes. Natives of 

 the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. The three 

 below enumerated are all found in Britain, and flower from 

 May to July. 



1. P. multiflorum. Solomon's Seal. Stem 2 or 3 feet high, 

 terete. Leaves alternate, 3 to 5 inches long, with very short 

 petioles, oblong, clasping the stem. Peduncles 2- to 5 -flowered. 

 Perianth about 8 lines long, constricted in the middle, green- 

 ish white. Filaments pubescent. Berry bluish-black. A very 

 pretty border plani. 



2. P. verticillatum. Stem 2 or 3 feet high, angular. 

 Leaves whbrled, sessile, lanceolate. Flowers rather smaller 

 than in the preceding, greenish. Perianth constricted in the 

 middle. Peduncles 1- to 3-flowered. Berry red. 



3. P. officinale. Stem about a foot high, angular. Leaves 

 alternate, oblong, semi-amplexicaul. Perianth constricted at 

 the base ; filaments glabrous. Berry dark violet. 



Maidnthemum bifdlium, syn. Smilacina hi/dUct, is a dimi- 

 nutive allied plant with a bifoliate stem and small racemose 

 flowers. It is a scarce plant in Yorkshire, etc., in England, 

 but widely distributed in the north temperate zone. 



29. RtJSCUS. 



A peculiar genus of evergreen shrubs belonging to the 

 Asparagus group. Flowers imperfectly dioecious. Perianth 

 six-parted to the base, persistent. Fruit a berry. Name of 

 uncertain origin. There are several species, some of them 

 remarkable on account of the reduced leaves and flattened 

 branches (cladodes), on whose face or margin the flowers are 

 produced. 



1. R. aculeatus. Butcher's Broom. A dwarf much-branched 

 shrub with small ovate rigid spinescent cladodes bearing the 

 small greenish flowers, which appear in April, and are succeeded 

 by bright red berries about the size of a pea. A native of the 

 South and West of England, etc. 



2. R. racemosus. This is the species most frequently seen 

 in gardens. It has larger glossy dark green lanceolate cladodes 

 and terminal racemes of small flowers. Portugal. 



R. androgynus is a climbing plant from the Canaries, with 

 flowers on the edges of the cladodes. R. Hypoglossum, a South 

 European species, has the flowers on the upper side of the 



